Newsletter: From Invisible to Unstoppable

It's been too long! Life has a way of pulling us in different directions, and I realise I've been quieter than usual in sharing my journey with you. Thank you for your patience as I navigated some deep personal growth work. I'm excited to reconnect and share what I've been learning about courage, transformation, and the beautiful messiness of being human. I hope you enjoy the read.

From Growth to Courage: Setting Intentions

My word for last year was GROWTH, and thanks to personal and professional opportunities, I certainly did a lot of that. So at the beginning of this year, I was raring to go, keen to put my learnings and development into practice, recognising that personal and professional growth is only as valuable as the positive impact and difference it makes in the world.

It was with this intention that I came to my word for 2025: COURAGE. To do things beyond my comfort zone, to play in my new stretch zones, would require courage to follow through and be willing to fail while trying new things. I also recognised the need to be assertive, which, for me, would take courage...

Courage in Action: A Mother's Transformation

My first opportunity to be courageously assertive came when I hosted my Mum for four weeks. You might be wondering why this required courage...

I wanted to give my mum the very best experience visiting me in Wanaka from the UK. She had been recently widowed after being a carer for some years, and I saw this as her chance to regain the energy and life she had expended in caring for her husband.

It would have been easy to offer Mum a nice, quiet time away while I continued working. She would have happily sat in the garden, enjoyed the sunshine and read her books. However, I knew this was my chance to provide my Mum with all that she needed to make the next season of her life the healthiest, most enjoyable and rewarding yet... if I was willing to step up and treat her as my most important client, as well as the person I will never be able to repay for the love and commitment she has always given me.

The Remarkable Transformation

When she arrived, she was slightly stooped, couldn't walk more than a few hundred meters without needing a rest, looked old and tired, and was pretty negative in her perspective of herself.

Our 4-week programme: Daily outings, walking practice, weekly seniors gym strength class, evening picnics at local beauty spots, joining the local bowls club for social games, and many long chats about life, love, past and future over coffees and wine.

When she left, A different person entirely, my mum recognised her own progress in moving more freely, sleeping more soundly, feeling like she had more energy and having ever greater confidence to try new and bigger experiences. She also spoke differently about herself and was more at ease in meeting new people. Among several wonderful experiences in her last week, my Mum walked up to the top of Mou Waho Island and was thrilled with the reward of seeing for herself the iconic view of the lake on the island in a lake. Within weeks of being home, she had taken up new roles in her local bowls club, become the local church warden, and was busier than ever, loving every minute of it.

Looking back on all the photos I took of my mum during her stay, the transformation is obvious and far more profound than the suntan she took back with her to the UK. This experience reinforced my belief that everyone, regardless of age, has the potential for change. It just takes having the right support - having someone who believes in your potential, with the commitment and expertise to help you believe in it and do the work to achieve it.

Early Success & Finding Flow

With my heart whole from Mum's transformation, I turned my attention to my business. Working with several new clients, I watched them transform over just a couple of weeks. One gained a new dream job by believing in themselves and taking the risk to apply, and another found new sustainable energy just by understanding how to support their unique body type. Things were flowing beautifully, and continuing in my theme of courageous action, I was preparing to start promoting a new offering...

When Life Tests Your Growth

Then something happened to me. I was the victim of a crime that left me totally undone. In the space of a few minutes, I lost all courage and my ability to be assertive.

I'll share more about my journey from victim to victor in a future post. For now, suffice to say that where I thought I had "done" the personal growth and development, this experience challenged me to the core...

What I've learned is that growth isn't a destination. It's an ongoing practice. Sometimes life presents us with experiences that test everything we think we know about ourselves, stripping us back to basics and asking us to rebuild from a deeper foundation.

"Growth isn't a destination. It's an ongoing practice of becoming who we're meant to be."

What I've Learned About True Courage

Through both triumph and trial this year, I've discovered that courage isn't about being fearless. It's about feeling the fear, the uncertainty, even the devastation, and choosing to keep moving forward anyway.

True courage means:

• Showing up fully for the people we love, even when it means putting our own agenda aside

• Facing uncomfortable emotions without numbing, avoiding, or running to old protective patterns

• Rebuilding our sense of self when life strips us back to basics

• Trusting that every experience - beautiful or brutal - contributes to our growth

• Being willing to be vulnerable and honest about our struggles as well as our successes

After months of what felt like moving backwards, I've learned that sometimes our most significant growth happens in the spaces between. In the rebuilding, in the questioning, in the gentle return to ourselves.

3 Key Strategies I've Been Using from my Compassionate Assertiveness Tool Kit

1. Recognise Your Inner Critic
Notice when your inner voice shifts from supportive to sabotaging. Ask: "Is this thought helping me grow or keeping me stuck?" This simple question can be a game-changer in redirecting your mental energy toward growth rather than limitation.

2. Reframe Challenges as Opportunities
Instead of "Why is this happening to me?" try "What is this teaching me?" This subtle shift opens up possibilities instead of closing them down. It moves us from a victim consciousness to an empowered learning state.

3. Take Small, Consistent, Brave Actions
Courage is built through daily practice, not grand gestures. What's one small brave thing you can do today? It could be having that difficult conversation, trying something new, or simply asking for what you need.

Ready to Embrace Your Own Courage?

I'm offering a limited number of complimentary 45-minute Strategy & Lifestyle Review sessions for clients ready to break through their own barriers

If you are keen to discover more, you can book a free session. No pressure,  just genuine conversation about where you are and where you want to be.